Alpa Responds To Pit Tribune-review

[USA320Pilot]

MEC CODE-A-PHONE UPDATE - February 22, 2005

This is Jack Stephan with a US Airways MEC update for Tuesday, February 22nd, with two new items.

Item 1. Last week, MEC Chairman Bill Pollock sent the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review a letter to the editor that challenged the newspaper's practice of using a United pilot and analyst as a source for negative stories and unsubstantiated claims about US Airways' future and ALPA. Captain Pollock's letter pointed out that the Trib had failed to disclose in several previous articles that this source was an active pilot for a competitor of US Airways. Captain Pollock also noted that this pilot crossed the United pilots' picket line during their 1985 strike, but he has still benefited from everything that the United pilots attained following the strike's resolution. The Trib printed an abbreviated version of Captain Pollock's letter today. The complete version of Captain Pollock's letter is available on the pilots public and pilots only website under MEC Chairman Information.

The Trib first printed an editorial Sunday about US Airways, again using this pilot as a source, and incorrectly blamed union labor costs for our airline's financial situation. This article was nothing less than a slap in the face to all the hard working employees of our airline. In this column, US Airways pilots' pay was singled out and compared to Southwest pilots' pay. The pay information they used for US Airways pilots is so wildly inaccurate that our pay and benefits were reported at 90 percent more than what an average US Airways pilot is currently compensated. The average US Airways pilot now makes far less than the average Southwest pilot, but the opposite was portrayed in this column.

The Trib did not attempt to contact any ALPA media spokesmen to obtain accurate US Airways pilot pay information, or to learn about the many factors that have led to US Airways' cost structure. However, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has run several well-researched articles that the Trib could use to gain a better understanding about our airline's structure, labor costs, and labor contributions to the Transformation Plan that continues to save this airline.

Item 2. MEC Chairman Bill Pollock has called a special MEC conference call meeting for Thursday, February 24, 2005, to consider a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the change in vendors from Caremark/Advance PCS to Benistar for post-65 retirees' prescription drug insurance coverage for 2005.

Please remember we have 1,879 pilots on furlough.

Thank you for listening.

 

[USA320Pilot]

Click here for Bill Pollock's letter to the Tribune-Review, which I believe has become a tabloid in regard to US Airways reporting.

Regardless, the Trib will not obtain any additional information from ALPA.

Click here for another perspective on the Tribune-Review.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[ClueByFour]

dead agent, v.--to spread malicious lies and rumors about a person or organization, in an attempt to so thoroughly discredit them that everyone concerned will be disgusted with them, and not listen to the information they have to give about the subject at hand.

Usually you see it by the Church of Scientology; in this case it's ALPA.

Being completely unable to attack the message, Pollack goes after the messenger. Also known as the Argumentum ad hominem, where one attacks the character or motives of the speaker in leiu of their stated idea.

 

[EyeInTheSky]

Click here for Bill Pollock's letter to the Tribune-Review, which I believe has become a tabloid in regard to US Airways reporting.

Regardless, the Trib will not obtain any additional information from ALPA.

Click here for another perspective on the Tribune-Review.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

[post="250291"][/post]​

We know, we know,

Read "Tit For Tat" BoeingBoy posted this two days ago.

http://www.usaviation.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18854

 

[BoeingBoy]

Now that this thread is going, there's this from the code-a-phone message:

"The Trib first printed an editorial Sunday about US Airways, again using this pilot as a source, and incorrectly blamed union labor costs for our airline's financial situation."

Hasn't there been a certain US pilot that's repeatedly said that the union foot-dragging resulted in a poorer financial position - more booking away, less investor confidence, etc?

Just wondering.....

Jim

 

[Phantom Fixer]

Hmm,

Seems to me that USA320Pilot and Captain Vaughn Cordle are a cut from the same gib for lack of better terms.

Captain Cordle is a self-proclaimed industry analyst...as is a certain Captain here.

Sure , maybe USA320Pilot has never crossed a picket line...but then again , when you are in a position that always speaks of capitulation...crossing a picket line is rarely if ever a valid concern to begin with.

USA320Pilot...while not getting the same notoriety as Captain Cordle, is still exactly the same type of person. Cordle gets in his jabs at the Post Gazzette...and USA320pilot is limited to Op Ed ramblings on this website and the Charlotte Observer...but those in the Observer are to speak out against and attack his fellow employee's for his personal benefit as history records it.

Lastly..How many times has USA320Pilot attacked his industry brethren at UA , that has in turn drawn more than its fare share of cross-over attackers in the U forum?

Pollock maybe right to defend U against the likes of a Vaugn Cordle....but everyone whom speaks out against USA320Pilot is equally correct to do so. My observations are two fold...as this man will try to hurt anyone or anything that happens to stand in his way of self-profiting or self-glorification.

 

[USA320Pilot]

BoeingBoy:

The difference is that the RC4, AFA & CWA Press Releases, and the IAM "concession stand is closed" positions caused every US Airways employee to give a concession more than the company's initial "ask".

As far as Cordle, he is a "fraud" and a non-ALPA member, even though he is a UAL B777 Captain. Cordle is entitled to his opinion. The issue ALPA & I have is that the newspaper does not disclose his background and motivation, which is nothing more than "tabloid" reporting.

Regardless, the Tribune-Review will now not receive ALPA's position in the future, which will be provided in Pittsburgh to the Post-Gazette and Dan Fitzpatrick.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[BoeingBoy]

The difference is that the RC4, AFA & CWA Press Releases, and the IAM "concession stand is closed" positions caused every US Airways employee to give a concession more than the company's initial "ask".

[post="250313"][/post]​

Well, I only took the time to find a couple of quotes, but here they are. I'll leave it up to the reader to determine if you were "only" talking about the effect on the size of the concessions or the effect on US' financial position.....

"If labor had agreed to the cuts sooner and not issued strike talk press releases the company would have a larger cash position and there would not have been liquidation talk, which has now largely subsided."

"I'm not exactly sure how this would have effected the balance sheet, but it's clear the "hardline" union approach badly hurt and nearly killed US Airways."


Jim

 

[eolesen]

As far as Cordle, he is a "fraud" and a non-ALPA member, even though he is a UAL B777 Captain. Cordle is entitled to his opinion. The issue ALPA & I have is that the newspaper does not disclose his background and motivation, which is nothing more than "tabloid" reporting.

[post="250313"][/post]​

deleted

Cordle, despite his part-time pilot job with UAL, has his chartered financial analyst certification, which puts him in the same category as Gary Chase and other analysts whom you openly worship.

And CFA isn't something you get from the University of Phoenix over the web. It's actually a respected certification to hold. Much moreso than a MBA or a CPA.

And lastly, at least Cordle publishes UNDER HIS OWN NAME, as opposed to hiding behind a pseudonymn in a chat room. More than I can say for a lot of folks here, including myself.

But you know this already. You just chose not to respond the last time it was brought to your attention.

 

[BoeingBoy]

I don't know Cordle and normally only see what he says when it's quoted somewhere.

Don't know if anyone (including Pollock) actually looked at what he's had to say about US - apparently they were too upset by what someone said he said, as quoted in the Trib-Review article.

The last thing he's written on US seems pretty accurate, taking into account the context of when he wrote it - Jan 5, when the IAM was up in arms.

As far as the US pilot cost numbers, they're probably pretty accurate before the effects of the latest agreement.

Cordle's piece

Jim

 

[ClueByFour]

As far as Cordle, he is a "fraud" and a non-ALPA member, even though he is a UAL B777 Captain. Cordle is entitled to his opinion. The issue ALPA & I have is that the newspaper does not disclose his background and motivation, which is nothing more than "tabloid" reporting.

Argumentum ad hominem--where one attacks the character or motives of the speaker in leiu of their stated idea.

And ALPA cannot possibly speculate as to his "motivation." All that has to happen is to rebut the guy's points, which ALPA and Pollack are either unable or unwilling to do (so, as mentioned above, they attack the source of the ideas).

Regardless, the Tribune-Review will now not receive ALPA's position in the future, which will be provided in Pittsburgh to the Post-Gazette and Dan Fitzpatrick.

Which will probably result in unfavorable press for AAA ALPA, which is something it can ill-afford at this point.

 

[mweiss]

The Trib ... editorial Sunday ... incorrectly blamed union labor costs for our airline's financial situation.

Hmmm...I just re-read the article, because I thought I must have overlooked something the first time. Here's what I saw that talked about labor costs:

I was hoping my wife could become a US Airways flight attendant...because...would get $20 an hour (and $2 for each hour away from Pittsburgh) for an 80-hour work month...

While this does perpetuate some of the myth that arises from a lack of understanding of paid vs. unpaid hours as an FA, it's still accurate, and certainly doesn't speak in any way to the company's financial condition.

thanks to the union, she would be paid a minimum of 71 hours a month. She'd make at least $1,400 a month if she never flew a foot.

This is the reserve number we've talked about before. Again, it's true. AFA negotiated these minima with the expectation that it would encourage the company to better use the FA resources. At least, I hope that was the motivation...perhaps PITbull could comment here.

US Airways is broke and dying and Southwest is so rich and healthy because US Airways' foolish executives have been paying their union employees too well.

Ahhh, here's what got Mr. Stephan's panties in a wad. Mr. Steigerwald blamed both groups, but with a spin that perpetuates the "lazy union employee" stereotype. The statement does blame the executives, but for the wrong reason. It's unclear from context whether these words are Mr. Steigerwald's alone, or a paraphrase of Mr. Cordle's.

This article was nothing less than a slap in the face to all the hard working employees of our airline.

I don't know that I'd go that far. After all, Mr. Steigerwald did say

US Airways ... still has lots of good people

I hardly believe that his intention was to say that all of those "good people" work in Crystal City.

In this column ... The pay information they used for US Airways pilots is so wildly inaccurate that our pay and benefits were reported at 90 percent more than what an average US Airways pilot is currently compensated.

Hmmm...

...the average total cost per pilot to US Airways is $241,000...The average total cost per pilot to Southwest is $187,000...

OK, first of all, with apologies to Bill Clinton, the use of the word "is" is rather misleading. The average cost was. Jim suggested that these numbers are accurate for 2004.

The Trib did not attempt to contact any ALPA media spokesmen to obtain accurate US Airways pilot pay information, or to learn about the many factors that have led to US Airways' cost structure.

That's because it's an editorial. It is written to express a particular point of view, an opinion. That's why they put it on a different page than the news. We can argue whether his opinion is missing some key points (and, in fact, it seems to be based on outdated information), but to complain that an editorial isn't "fair and balanced" is missing the point.

 

[magsau]

One note about Cordle and USA320 is that they were both hired in 1985 at UAL. Both were profiled under the physch. exam to do what Cordle did. I have flown with Cordle and presume his personality to be much like what I read from USA320. They are peas in a pod.

A friend described the scabs/and the 570 (group of pilots at UAL that included USA320) as being very much the same. For the most part they were all in line to administer oral pleasure to the company but for the 570 the company zipped up before they got their chance.

Sorry to be crass but after having flown with this group of pilots for over 10years I see the truth to this statement. Both were opportunist and both believe they are OWED the world.

 

[savyinvestor]

Your not telling us anything we didn't already know, but thanks anyway! Savy

 

[whlinder]

You just chose not to respond the last time it was brought to your attention.

[post="250339"][/post]​

He doesn't choose to respond to anything, even meaningful discussion of his outrageous claims, unless it fits into his agenda and he can spin as he pleases.